Music festival down a concert

CLOVIS — A somewhat familiar bunch of faces is coming back into town for the summer’s Draggin’ Main Music Festival.

Music fans will, however, see a drop from three concerts to two when the festival runs June 13-20. The details were discussed during the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce’s board meeting on Wednesday.

Board President Greg Southard said Penrose, Colorado-based Gravel is on to do the opening act for .38 Special in the June 19 headliner concert. Southard announced during the January chamber banquet that .38 Special was the headliner, but conceded it was hardly a secret at that point.

Gravel came to Clovis in September, where it won the Battle of the Bands competition at the Curry County Events Center’s 10-year anniversary celebration.

In addition to a local track record, the concert won’t cost organizers anything. Southard said the booking of Gravel will be underwritten by a local business in exchange for sponsorship opportunities with the festival.

A faith and family concert set for June 18 will feature Christian artists 7eventh Time Down, and work is still ongoing to secure a local opening act.

The traditional concert showcasing the “Clovis sound” of the 1950s and ’60s is off, Southard said, as the festival committee is just far apart financially with most artists it’s sought.

“We’re trying to rethink it,” Southard said. “We’re trying to come up with a better way to promote the history and sound.”

Southard and Chamber Executive Director Ernie Kos noted it’s getting tougher to find large audiences to attend concerts for the genre, and that a family sock-hop event or simply playing the music during Saturday festivities could be alternatives.